Mumbai: Mumbai Police will deploy over 21,000 personnel across the city to ensure smooth and safe Ganesh idol immersions on Anant Chaturdashi, the final day of the festival, officials announced on Friday. For the first time, artificial intelligence (AI) will be used for route management and real-time traffic updates.
An AI-powered control room has been set up at Girgaon Chowpatty, and QR codes have been issued to major Ganpati mandals along with vehicle stickers to help police track immersion vehicles and monitor congestion. This will enable quick traffic diversions and better crowd management. Drones equipped with cameras, public address systems, and lights will keep watch on processions, complementing more than 10,000 CCTV cameras installed across Mumbai. The flying of private drones has been prohibited.
The security deployment will include 12 additional commissioners, 40 deputy commissioners, 61 assistant commissioners, 3,000 officers, and 18,000 police constables, Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Satyanarayan Choudhary said. Fourteen companies of the State Reserve Police Force, four units of the Central Armed Police Forces, quick response teams, and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads (BDDS) will also be stationed across the city.
Authorities expect the immersion of nearly 6,500 community idols and 1.75 lakh household idols at city beaches, water bodies, and 205 artificial lakes. Security arrangements have been made in coordination with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and lifeguards will be present at immersion sites.
Traffic management will be handled by 3,000 traffic police personnel and 285 Maharashtra Security Force staff. Several road diversions will be in place, and heavy vehicles will not be allowed into the city from 7 am on Saturday until midnight on Sunday. Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Kumbhare also instructed Ganesh mandals not to halt processions on old railway bridges, capping the number of people on a bridge at 100 at any given time. This applies to bridges in Ghatkopar, Curry Road, Arthur Road, Byculla, Marine Lines, Sandhurst Road, Mahalaxmi, Prabhadevi-Carol, Dadar-Tilak, French ROB (Grant Road–Charni Road), and Falkland Bridge (Grant Road–Mumbai Central).
